Have you been to Beijing or any part of the People's Republic of China ? [View all]

[steve2470]

I have, in 1997. I was only there for 3 days, and I wish I could have stayed for much longer. Bicycles everywhere back then during morning rush hour ! I was the tallest human at the Beijing McDonald's by my hotel ! I felt very unwatched in Beijing, which was nice.

The Chinese people were very nice to me. I went in January to get a lower price, so I froze a bit. I went to Tiananmen Square and it's gigantic. I walked on the Great Wall of China. I saw the Summer Palace. The air pollution was bad back then and apparently it's even worse now with all the cars on the road.

One piece of advice: When you fly into Beijing (or Buenos Aires for that matter), expect to be accosted by hordes of locals wanting to drive you into town. If you don't know any Chinese, expect to be completely confused. Have Chinese currency ready to pay with. I don't know if they take credit cards now.

Have you been to China ? Care to share your experiences ? Thanks as always.

Steve